Freshen Up Your Playing with Eight Fancy Blues Chords

While the blues is typically a very well-defined genre that is instantly identifiable, throwing in these interesting resolution chords at the end of your phrases can completely change the melodic context.

Blues guitar is timeless, and some of its most basic chords just sound... right. However, there are chords out there that stray away from the traditional blues sound, and you'll be surprised to know that these chords may actually feel better than their simpler counterparts.

An understanding of intervals will take you a long way in experimenting with different tonalities and forming opinions about how your favorite colors of the palate work best in a given situation. The interesting thing about blues music is that it’s primarily constructed in an ambiguous tonality, given that the pentatonic scales–major or minor–each only contain five notes.

While the blues is typically a very well-defined genre that is instantly identifiable, throwing in these interesting resolution chords at the end of your phrases can completely change the melodic context.

If you want a full understanding of how these chords are constructed and why they work, as well as access to learn even more chords and utilize them in your guitar playing, make sure to sign up for my course, Guitar Super System.

Tyler Larson is the founder of the guitar-centric website Music is Win. His entertaining and educational content receives millions of views per month and has enrolled tens of thousands of students in his online guitar courses, which rank among the highest satisfaction ratings of any online educator in the music industry. Check out Tyler’s flagship course Guitar Super System and follow his daily content on YouTube.